


You and Me

by simpleandpure22



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-24
Updated: 2015-09-24
Packaged: 2018-04-23 04:48:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4863734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simpleandpure22/pseuds/simpleandpure22
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erik cringes as he gently rises up from the couch. His knee feels weird. Should it feel this weird? He’s been told that it’s okay if the he feels discomfort and swelling in the knee the first few days after the surgery. Yet they don’t say how much pain is considered okay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You and Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cafe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cafe/gifts).



> For Cafe :) I'm sorry it takes me so long to fulfill your request. And this might be slightly different from what you expected (especially towards the end ;) but I hope you'll still like it <3

Erik cringes as he gently rises up from the couch. His knee feels weird. Should it feel this weird? This is the first time he got a knee surgery (and for the love of God, he hopes that he won’t have to do it again in the next ten years. At least), and he doesn’t know what is normal and what is not. He’s been told that it’s okay if the he feels discomfort and swelling in the knee the first few days after the surgery. Yet they don’t say how much pain is considered okay.

Reaching for his crutches, he walks towards the fridge to get an ice pack. It should help to reduce the swelling, like the doctor said. When he is back to the sofa again he stretches his left leg, pressing the ice pack on the knee. It feels rather comforting, and for a moment Erik does nothing more than moving around the ice pack a little bit. But after a while the stillness of the room bothers him. It’s too quiet; he doesn’t like that. It makes him think about things he probably shouldn’t. Like when he’ll be able to be back on the pitch again.

Yeah, it doesn’t help his already gloomy mood. He has missed quite a few games, and who knows when he’ll be back in the squad. It’s hard not to get frustrated. Erik sighs and leans to grab the remote control from the table. He turns the TV on and puts the remote back on the table, doesn’t even care what channel it’s on. He just needs some sounds.

As he moves the ice pack again, he inevitably thinks of Jonas. Jonas also had this before, even worse for him because he had to get operated twice within six months. Now that Erik knows what it feels, he wonders how hard it was for Jonas then, and if he felt as lonely as Erik feels now.

Erik misses him. Since being injured, he hasn’t seen Jonas much. Erik has to go back and forth to Donaustauf for his treatment, whilst Jonas is very busy with the team. Sometimes it doesn’t really feel like they are together. They have decided to take it slow, yes, but now Erik can’t even remember the last time they spent a full day together.

The clock on the wall shows that it’s a bit over seven o’clock in the evening. Erik exhales soundly. He supposes Jonas isn’t coming today either, since he has a late training today and an early training tomorrow, which is what he wrote to Erik earlier. But, it’s fine. Once this glum mood is gone, Erik will be normal again. Or at least be in a better mood than he is now. He’ll be fine. Crying over his knee won’t make his knee magically better.

Turning his head to look at the TV, Erik frowns as it’s currently showing _Alles was zählt_ on RTL. His mum used to watch it, he doesn’t know if she still does. He then flips through the channel and leave it on a news program on ZDF. It’s time to discard the ice pack, so Erik carefully puts his foot down and reaches for his crutches again.

Just when he’s about to walk back to the living room, the doorbell rings. Who could it be? Erik isn’t expecting anyone. And it can’t be Jonas because he’ll tell Erik if he’s coming. But much to Erik’s surprise, it is indeed Jonas. The brunet smiles the moment Erik opens the door.

“Hi there.”

It’s impossible not to smile back when Jonas smiles at him like that. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” Erik asks as he moves aside to let Jonas in.

Instead of answering, Jonas presses his lips on Erik’s as soon as Erik has closed the door. It was probably meant to be a chaste kiss, more like a greeting. But soon it becomes more than that as Jonas places his hands on each side of Erik’s face, deepening the kiss. The crutches limit Erik’s mobility, but he tilts his head and savours the feeling of having Jonas’s lips on his again; the softness, the warmth, and the creeping sensation in the pit of his stomach. He missed all those things.

Erik feels Jonas smile against his lips as they pull away a little. “I just missed you,” Jonas says softly, moving a step back so now Erik can see his face properly.

“I missed you, too,” Erik replies, can’t take his eyes off Jonas’s face, off his blue eyes. It already feels too long since he’s been this close to him.

Jonas smiles at him one more time before walking towards the living room. Erik follows him. “Your hair is damp. Is it raining outside?” Erik asks as Jonas stops near the couch.

“No,” Jonas says, turning his head to look at him. “I just showered. The training finished like, half an hour ago.”

“So you came here directly after training,” Erik says, can’t help but smile. It’s kind of cute. “You haven’t eaten then.”

With a grin, Jonas gently shakes his head. “Do you have anything edible?”

Erik chuckles and then mumbles that it’s typical. “I made lasagne earlier. There are still some in the fridge.” Doesn’t need to be told twice, Jonas nods and strides to the kitchen, with Erik once again following him. Erik watches Jonas as he eats, after heating the lasagne. “How is it?” Erik asks, sitting on the opposite side of him.

“It’s good. Could do with a bit more cheese, but it’s okay,” Jonas replies jokingly, making Erik snort. “How is the knee today?” Jonas asks, his voice getting softer.

Erik shrugs. “It’s fine, I guess. Feels rather stiff, but the doctor said it’s normal the first few days after the surgery,” he says, absently tapping the pepper shaker on the table.

Jonas looks at him before saying, “It is definitely normal. It’ll feel better soon.” Erik merely nods. And then Jonas tells him about some things that happened in the training ground today. “Auba played a prank on Julian again. He swapped his training shirt with Roman’s. Julian’s face when he saw number 38 on his shirt was priceless,” Jonas says, laughing. Erik laughs, too. Poor Julian; he’s such an easy target for the pranksters, like Auba and Marco.

“Did he find his shirt?” Erik asks after they stop laughing.

“Nope,” Jonas replies, with a chuckle. “Because Roman was wearing it. So, they wore each other’s number today.” The image of Julian and Roman wearing each other’s number is so funny that Erik laughs again. He misses being with the team. It feels like forever since the last time he trained with them—with Jonas. That thought erases the smile from his face.

Jonas must have noticed the change. “Is everything okay?” he asks softly.

Looking back at his boyfriend, Erik puts up a smile. “Yeah. I just miss being there with the team again. With you. It feels like ages ago.”

“I miss you being there, too. But you’ll be back soon. It won’t be long until you’ll start your treatment,” Jonas tells him reassuringly. Erik nods. When Jonas is here, everything doesn’t seem so bad anymore. It’s easy for Erik to believe that everything will be all right, when Jonas says it like that.

After Jonas is done eating and he has put the dishes in the dishwasher, they move to the living room. Erik left the TV on earlier, and Jonas chuckles as he sees what’s on.

“You were about to watch _Die Rosenheim-Cops_?” Jonas asks, sounding amused, as he sits down on the sofa.

“No, I was listening to the news,” Erik replies. “Change it to anything you like, I need to go to the bathroom.” Jonas nods, so Erik walks to the bathroom. He can hardly wait to get rid of these crutches.

When he’s back to the living room again, Jonas is watching TV. But as Erik gets closer he notices that actually Jonas’s eyes are not fixed on the TV. He’s got a distant look on his face, as if being in his own world. _Something is wrong._ But before Erik can figure out what it is, Jonas turns to look at him. And then after a split second, the brunet gives him a smile. Despite the thought, Erik smiles back.

They watch the eight o’clock news on ARD and then Jonas suggests them to play Mario Kart. They play for more than two hours, and for a while Erik forgets about his injured knee, about his worries of when he will be back. All those don’t seem to matter much at this moment. Not when Jonas is here, with his smile, his infectious laugh, and his eyes…

It’s always when we don’t want time to pass quickly, it does the opposite. Before they know it, it’s half past ten. And Erik knows Jonas has an early training tomorrow, so he has to go back soon.

“It’s late. I should—“ Jonas starts.

“Stay with me, Jonas,” Erik cuts him off before Jonas finishes. “Please?”

Jonas looks at him, looking pretty surprised. Erik holds his gaze. He feels a bit selfish, but he really doesn’t want Jonas to leave. Jonas finally nods, much to Erik’s relief.

“We should sleep, though,” Jonas tells him.

“Yeah.” Erik has stopped taking painkillers, but some of the medicine he takes makes him feel tired.

But later when they lie in Erik’s bed, under the covers, Erik can’t fall asleep. Next to him, he hears Jonas take a deep breath, which means he hasn’t fallen asleep either. “Jonas?” Erik whispers.

Erik feels Jonas shift. “Hmm?”

“Why are you still awake?”

Jonas is silent for a second before saying, “Just thinking about some things, I guess. Why can’t you sleep? Does your knee hurt?”

“No, it’s fine,” Erik replies. “I was thinking about the many games I’ve missed. Too many... And now they bought a defender because nobody knows when I’ll be back.”

The covers rustle as Jonas moves closer, laying his head in the crook of Erik’s neck. “Don’t think about it. You’ll be fine. It sucks to miss so many games, I know. Really sucks. But worrying about it won’t help you,” he says, his voice gentle and soothing. “Buying Park is a precaution, as a back-up for Schmelle. There are still so many matches to come.”

Like before, what he said makes Erik feel better. “Thank you,” he says, and then adds, “What were you thinking about? Is everything really okay?” He remembers the distant look on Jonas’s face earlier.

Jonas lets out a soft sigh. “Erik, it’s nothing. I don’t want to bother you. We should sleep now.”

“Jonas, tell me. What’s wrong?” Erik insists. “You won’t bother me. Tell me.”

After a long second of silence, Jonas finally says, “Sometimes I feel that no matter how hard I try, it still won’t be enough; I still won’t be the first choice. Even when Marco, Shinji or Miki have a bad day, they will still be in front of me.” He pauses and takes a deep breath. “And I wonder if these things will ever change.”

Erik lifts his hand and puts it on top of Jonas’s arm. “You shouldn’t keep this to yourself. Stop giving me that ‘I don’t want to bother you’ bullshit, because you’ll never bother me,” he says, gently stroking Jonas’s arm. “And you’ll be okay. You’re good enough to fight for your place. You know that.”

“I know. I just can’t stop thinking about it sometimes,” Jonas says, moving his head a bit. Erik can feel Jonas’s lips brush against his jawline. “And I miss you being there, too…” Jonas trails off, before quickly adding, “I’m sorry, I really shouldn’t bother you with this. Let’s just sleep.”

Erik says nothing. Jonas just shows some vulnerability, something he probably doesn’t want Erik to see. He knows Jonas is trying to be strong for him, for both of them. But even the strong ones have a moment of weakness, too. And in their current situation, there’s nothing they can do other than keep going, even though the finish line feels so far away.

Jonas needs him, despite the brunet trying not to let it show because he doesn’t want to burden Erik. But the truth is he needs Erik as much as Erik needs him.

“It’s okay to admit that you need me,” Erik whispers, breaking the silence. “Like I need you.” He feels that his eyes are getting misty.

He feels Jonas’s breath on his face as the brunet speaks, “I didn’t want to make you worry. You’ve had enough thoughts and worries about your knee. I know how it feels to watch your teammates train without you, and you can’t stop wondering when you’ll be back with them.” He pauses. “You don’t need more troubles.”

“I don’t mind. And I can say the same to you,” Erik says, pressing his lips on top of Jonas’s head.

“Fair enough,” Jonas says, letting out a soft laugh. “But I really think we should sleep now.”

Erik nods gently. He doesn’t release his hold on Jonas’s arm, smiling when it doesn’t look like Jonas is going to move either. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Erik.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, it's slightly different from what I initially planned. The request is about Jonas comforting Erik because of his injury. But in the end I thought Jonas actually needs him just as much, and I couldn't resist writing it like this :)
> 
> I hope you enjoy it anyway :)


End file.
